KimNicole

kranders wrote:Good grief people. ALL electric guitars are "toys". If you want to be an elitist, try learning a real instrument... like the violin. None of those namby-pamby frets to do the playing for you.

You better have a YouTube clip on an unfretted instrument to back that up.

(Insert a meme of an unimpressed gymnast looking at a violinist here.)

mitch026

The neck is full-sized. The $49 purple one says it has 25.5" scale and 1.65" nut width. That's the standard neck length and width for Fender Strat, Tele, etc. The other two guitars don't specify, but I'd expect they are the same.

xtreemsaver

charliecarroll wrote:You have got to be kidding right? If I want a clock that is what I would buy. I would not buy a piece of crap guitar and then make it into a clock.

I do not 'hate' these things. They are inanimate objects with no feelings, thoughts, or souls. Certainly not something to hate.

What I hate is to see a young person that wants to learn to play be handed one of these from a well thinking and loving parent and then it either be unplayable or have technical problems or both. This frustrates the heck out of the young student and he/she may turn away from the instrument without realizing it was not them but the instrument that was the problem. And then there is Mom and Dad out the cask they paid and feeling bad the kid could not learn or their present simply does not work as it should from the beginning.

I do not have to go get one of these to know what it is. This level crap has been on the market for years and years. It is only recently that Peavey has allowed their name to be attached to it.

As I said before, you can not find a major music store that has the Peavey Line of instruments and amps selling these. Yet they are selling a very low line Peavey Guitar as well as amp. Both, better than this stuff. No, I am not going to take my time to go to a 'toy store' to buy a musical instrument regardless of brand name. I have seen many instruments in toy stores and the like in the forty some odd years I have been playing and I have yet to see even one that was worth the Pennies it was going for.

I have seen student and parent very disappointed when they found the had purchased junk. The ones that went back and purchased something that was adequate for a beginner both they and the student felt much better but, it sure would have been nice if they had not thrown away that first little bit of money.

So there is the reason several have taken the time to write what we know about these guitars. It is only an effort to help. Hate, no, I do not hate these or any other object. I do hate to see a hard working parent trying there best, throw their money down a toilet.

charliecarroll

No, not at all. I have to admit I was taken a little aback when someone took my $150 estimate and changed it to $500. And then I was astounded that someone would actually suggest, go get one and if it does not work out do some modifying on it and change it to a clock. ROFLMAO!

Several of us are trying our best to give good sound advice on guitars in order to support someone that is wanting to learn. But no matter what, there is always going to be someone that wants to make chicken salad out of chicken Sh*t.

xtreemsaver

I couldn’t find these exact model guitars on the Toys R Us or Wal-Mart website. Do you have a link? I want to get a beginner guitar for my 10 year old. I don't want to spend a lot of money just in case he doesn’t like it. I think this might be a good deal for me.

KimNicole

charliecarroll wrote:Great guitars have been coming out of Japan for quite a few years now. But that can not be said for all of Asia.

My Kala ukes are from China. Love them, but Kala has a reputation for returning entire shipments for flaws. And China has a reputation for producing some really good instruments, but with wildly variant quality.

That's the thing. A good company can sell the product and sell you something really good for the price, but it takes a lot of effort. When a company rents a brand, that doesn't always happen.

charliecarroll

I couldn’t find these exact model guitars on the Toys R Us or Wal-Mart website. Do you have a link? I want to get a beginner guitar for my 10 year old. I don't want to spend a lot of money just in case he doesn’t like it. I think this might be a good deal for me.

@Extremesaver

A few weeks ago when these were up on Woot I found at least one if not all these on both. I can not remember now but, I will make another search and see what I can come up with. While I am doing that here are a few links to look at. All are large music dealers and all are certified Peavey dealers. Search these delaers for the three models woot is selling and you will not find them. Also, search for the amp (Peavey G-5)and you won't find it either. These stores do sell a very low end (Peavey brand)along with the upper levels and the low end at these stores are the marvel comic book guitars. I personally would stay away from them also. However, they do sell the Peavey 'Preditor' and that is an affordable starter that is widely known and will give years of service to the owner. No, it is not a strat of a les paul but it is a dang good starter guitar. Also, on the amp, the smallest Peavey these carry is a 7 amp that goes for just a little under $50. None of these stores are charging shipping right now and depending on where you ship to, you may not have to pay tax either.

What I found were examples of the Rockmaster line and the Retro Fire line. Item numbers will vary due to different pickups, color, etc. But as far as the lines go, it is all apples to apples. This can be verified by contacting Peavey. And then going to their customer support page for contacts.
[ur]http://www.peavey.com/[/url]

BTW, I was also able to find the amp that goes with these in the same kind of stores but not in any music store.

We all have pretty well worn this subject out. You can see for yourself where this line of Peaveys can be found and where they can not. It that does not speak to you so be it. It's the old saying all over again. After all, "it is your dime."

Symbolic2007

charliecarroll wrote:No, not at all. I have to admit I was taken a little aback when someone took my $150 estimate and changed it to $500.

Eh, that one can be attributed to my $300-500 estimate for a good axe. My first guitar was a new Mexican Fender Strat and cost about $450. They threw in a hundred dollar amp for another fifty. The amp was awful and kind of discouraging, honestly (Crate GX-15). But I still play the Strat today, 17 years later. It's in beautiful shape and perfect for bluesier stuff.

Your point about finding a decent used guitar in the $150 price range is perfectly valid. I may argue you won't find anything particularly playable even for used guitars at that price point, but it would *definitely* be better than any of the instrumental offerings I've seen w00t post.

Whoever basically referred to a few of us as trolls for keeping the argument going, it's not a matter of pride or anything negative driving the debate. We want to see young musicians turn into older, amazing musicians. My personal experience is that I have seen many young players who started out with Fender Squires or lesser guitars give up and quit playing early on, or even after a few years. The rate of that happening with kids who were given quality instruments (of any kind, not just guitars) has been much, much lower. I would say that's personal experience only, but most of the older guys I know still playing today have similar stories of the people around them.

Metal is awesome, it's super-powerful and emotional, but at the end of the day we're dudes with long hair and guitars going "RAAAAAR!" -Devin Townsend

fevans1980

Mine arrived yesterday. I spent a few minutes tuning and strumming, and I'm looking forward to giving it a real go. I've never played before, but this feels like exactly what I wanted - a cheap way to find out whether I could maintain interest long enough to learn anything. If not - well, I can give it to my grandson and he can go through the same process.

xtreemsaver

A few weeks ago when these were up on Woot I found at least one if not all these on both. I can not remember now but, I will make another search and see what I can come up with. While I am doing that here are a few links to look at. All are large music dealers and all are certified Peavey dealers. Search these delaers for the three models woot is selling and you will not find them. Also, search for the amp (Peavey G-5)and you won't find it either. These stores do sell a very low end (Peavey brand)along with the upper levels and the low end at these stores are the marvel comic book guitars. I personally would stay away from them also. However, they do sell the Peavey 'Preditor' and that is an affordable starter that is widely known and will give years of service to the owner. No, it is not a strat of a les paul but it is a dang good starter guitar. Also, on the amp, the smallest Peavey these carry is a 7 amp that goes for just a little under $50. None of these stores are charging shipping right now and depending on where you ship to, you may not have to pay tax either.

What I found were examples of the Rockmaster line and the Retro Fire line. Item numbers will vary due to different pickups, color, etc. But as far as the lines go, it is all apples to apples. This can be verified by contacting Peavey. And then going to their customer support page for contacts.
[ur]http://www.peavey.com/[/url]

BTW, I was also able to find the amp that goes with these in the same kind of stores but not in any music store.

We all have pretty well worn this subject out. You can see for yourself where this line of Peaveys can be found and where they can not. It that does not speak to you so be it. It's the old saying all over again. After all, "it is your dime."

skrutinizr

I just picked up a Gibson Epiphone SG for $40 in great shape off craigslist- so OK beginner guitars are out there. Back when I found my US made Peavey Predator, it wasn't much more. Shop around- they're out there. MIM Strats sometimes in the $200 range with some scratches or wear.
If you need a 3/4 size- the SX series from Rondomusic are decent. Not GOOD, but as good as the stuff Fender does- but way cheaper. I got one for my son after seeing how bad the Fender version is... then swapped some parts around so it would stay in tune.
The worst part about all this is that a bad instrument (of any type) will kill the chance of a young player staying with it. They won't understand why they sound bad, even if they are doing everything correctly. The instrument will have serious intonation problems.

lennybruce

charliecarrol is 100 % correct folks. remember this - you get what you pay for. 50 bucks for guitar and amp? Seriously folks - do your kids a HUGE favor and pass. A Uke is a fantastic idea or even an inexpensive classical. Nylon strings are GREAT to learn on. They wont tear their poor little fingers to shreds either. but if it's gotta' be an electric guitar buy a used fender squire strat or tele from a reputable eBayer or a fender bullet squire/tele/amp combo from a chain music store. but definitely pass on this deal for little kids - or even big ones.....

DaZoneRanger

lennybruce wrote:charliecarrol is 100 % correct folks. remember this - you get what you pay for. 50 bucks for guitar and amp? Seriously folks - do your kids a HUGE favor and pass. A Uke is a fantastic idea or even an inexpensive classical. Nylon strings are GREAT to learn on. They wont tear their poor little fingers to shreds either. but if it's gotta' be an electric guitar buy a used fender squire strat or tele from a reputable eBayer or a fender bullet squire/tele/amp combo from a chain music store. but definitely pass on this deal for little kids - or even big ones.....

Is that really what Charliecarrol was saying? I clicked on his link to the Best Buy reviews and it seemed to get decent reviews. One of the bad ones said it had bad solder connecting the output jack, but after that was fix, it sounded great. From the links he also provided, this combo costs between $159 and $179 everywhere else, which seems to put it in the range of the cheap squire combos that also seem to get good reviews. But hey, what do I know. I've been learning bass and the $80 bass I bought from eBay sounds great to me and he certainly stays in tune. I think the Saga ST-10 electric guitar kit I bought for $17.50 at an outlet store and put together also sounds great and the more I stretch the strings, the better it stays in tune. At first, though, it didn't stay in tune very well, whenever I used the tremolo bar, but after adjusting the springs and several retunings (more than several...) it stays in tune ok, now.

jjevensen

charliecarroll wrote:You have got to be kidding right? If I want a clock that is what I would buy. I would not buy a piece of crap guitar and then make it into a clock.

I do not 'hate' these things. They are inanimate objects with no feelings, thoughts, or souls. Certainly not something to hate.

What I hate is to see a young person that wants to learn to play be handed one of these from a well thinking and loving parent and then it either be unplayable or have technical problems or both. This frustrates the heck out of the young student and he/she may turn away from the instrument without realizing it was not them but the instrument that was the problem. And then there is Mom and Dad out the cask they paid and feeling bad the kid could not learn or their present simply does not work as it should from the beginning.

I do not have to go get one of these to know what it is. This level crap has been on the market for years and years. It is only recently that Peavey has allowed their name to be attached to it.

As I said before, you can not find a major music store that has the Peavey Line of instruments and amps selling these. Yet they are selling a very low line Peavey Guitar as well as amp. Both, better than this stuff. No, I am not going to take my time to go to a 'toy store' to buy a musical instrument regardless of brand name. I have seen many instruments in toy stores and the like in the forty some odd years I have been playing and I have yet to see even one that was worth the Pennies it was going for.

I have seen student and parent very disappointed when they found the had purchased junk. The ones that went back and purchased something that was adequate for a beginner both they and the student felt much better but, it sure would have been nice if they had not thrown away that first little bit of money.

So there is the reason several have taken the time to write what we know about these guitars. It is only an effort to help. Hate, no, I do not hate these or any other object. I do hate to see a hard working parent trying there best, throw their money down a toilet.

OK, but to be clear from reading your other posts, you have not seen these. Not held one in your hands. You are assuming it's crappy. If you have not touched it physically you cannot truthfully say what it is, can you?

KimNicole

jjevensen wrote:OK, but to be clear from reading your other posts, you have not seen these. Not held one in your hands. You are assuming it's crappy. If you have not touched it physically you cannot truthfully say what it is, can you?

Please note that I am not Charlie, nor do I speak for him.

I have never held an iPad Mini but I can pretty safely say what the quality will be.

Why?

Because I have used enough iDevices to know what Apple does well, and what Apple sucks at.

I have played a lot of ukes. Enough to know without touching what certain things in a description mean. If it doesn't say wood, it might be plywood. Guess what plywood plays like? Not good, with some known exceptions for *acceptable* play such as Mahalo--which still needs new strings to sound decent.

(Decent isn't great. Even with new strings I wanted a better instrument to advance on, but it still played better than the cheap, cheap guitars. Which is why I reccommend it to someone unsure of whether they'll like the uke and they can be found for $20-25. I still return to it as a beater and to let friends play on. UKES ARE MORE FORGIVING INSTRUMENTS.)

I don't need to pick up every bottom of the line crap uke produced to know that--because that is what the industry standard practice is. If it doesn't list a wood, it's worse than plastic. If it's got 20 coats of a bad paint job on it--worse than plastic.

Guitars are even more sensitive in some ways because of the steel strings, the size.

But hey, doubt him? doubt me? Buy it. If it works for you, great! But do not complain when you can never play a D note or it buzzes when other guitars don't, or (worst thing I ever saw) much better instruments sound out of tune to you because you trained your ear on a mildly/habitually out of tune instrument. (Just tell people you prefer Mixolydian mode.)

charliecarroll

jjevensen wrote:OK, but to be clear from reading your other posts, you have not seen these. Not held one in your hands. You are assuming it's crappy. If you have not touched it physically you cannot truthfully say what it is, can you?

With over 40 years experience with the instrument and also years of sales and teaching, I have had my hands on about every level there is and with that kind of expieriance I am vastly more qualified than a novice to state what an instrument would or would not be. If I had ever had an instrument at this level in my hands that was worth anything, I would have to reconsider my given advice but, I have not. The bottom line is, it's your dime and not mine but in consideration for all the would be and could be newbies out there, I expressed my personal knowledge in order to help anyone that wants to take advantage of that knowledge, spend their dime wisely. It appears you believe this is an awesome deal. Well, jump on it. I hope it will be all you expect it to be.

aedwards13

DaZoneRanger wrote:Is that really what Charliecarrol was saying? I clicked on his link to the Best Buy reviews and it seemed to get decent reviews. One of the bad ones said it had bad solder connecting the output jack, but after that was fix, it sounded great. From the links he also provided, this combo costs between $159 and $179 everywhere else, which seems to put it in the range of the cheap squire combos that also seem to get good reviews. But hey, what do I know. I've been learning bass and the $80 bass I bought from eBay sounds great to me and he certainly stays in tune. I think the Saga ST-10 electric guitar kit I bought for $17.50 at an outlet store and put together also sounds great and the more I stretch the strings, the better it stays in tune. At first, though, it didn't stay in tune very well, whenever I used the tremolo bar, but after adjusting the springs and several retunings (more than several...) it stays in tune ok, now.

I just found the same reviews and the same prices. While I agree, they're probably crap, you can make a crappy guitar sound good. My ex had a crappy pawn shop brand guitar and it played just fine.

As for the amp, I'm sure it is an absolute POS, but an absolute POS is better than nothing if you don't have a lot of money.

mdillard9

mdillard9

charliecarroll wrote:With over 40 years experience with the instrument and also years of sales and teaching, I have had my hands on about every level there is and with that kind of expieriance I am vastly more qualified than a novice to state what an instrument would or would not be. If I had ever had an instrument at this level in my hands that was worth anything, I would have to reconsider my given advice but, I have not. The bottom line is, it's your dime and not mine but in consideration for all the would be and could be newbies out there, I expressed my personal knowledge in order to help anyone that wants to take advantage of that knowledge, spend their dime wisely. It appears you believe this is an awesome deal. Well, jump on it. I hope it will be all you expect it to be.

Just want you to know that I agree with everything you have been saying and those arguing about this obviously don't have experience with the different degrees of "starter" guitars. My first guitar package was a behringer guitar and 10 watt amp that was actually very well made. The set cost around $120.00 like you've been saying and I learned on that thing for years before upgrading. I had a friend at one point that purchased a peavey starter set similar to this one and he brought it over so I could show him some stuff to start out on. Well he ended up lightly tapping it against a pole on accident while walking and it punched a huge hole out of the body! After that he didn't even pick it up anymore. So having a little bit better quality to begin with really does make a difference in wanting to stick with it.

Peaty

emcaines wrote:I smiled when I read this. My now 5-1/2-year-old started messing around on my husband's baritone ukelele when he was 2; he'd been begging for a guitar since he could walk. Now he's been playing since 2 days after his 5th birthday in April, and he LOVES it. I started him on a 3/4 scale Laguna electric and he's asking for "a two stick" (an acoustic) for Christmas. (Didn't go with a Peavey Marvel RockMasters; got him a good, solid Martin.)

Yes, my daughter's first Guitar after she outgrew the uke was a "Baby Martin" one of those travel guitars. In fact I just sold it last weekend. She hasn't picked it up in a while since she got a new Seagull Acoustic. It's hard enough learning how to play but learning on something that's kind of crappy makes it that much harder.

drgibberish

mdillard9 wrote:Just want you to know that I agree with everything you have been saying and those arguing about this obviously don't have experience with the different degrees of "starter" guitars. My first guitar package was a behringer guitar and 10 watt amp that was actually very well made. The set cost around $120.00 like you've been saying and I learned on that thing for years before upgrading. I had a friend at one point that purchased a peavey starter set similar to this one and he brought it over so I could show him some stuff to start out on. Well he ended up lightly tapping it against a pole on accident while walking and it punched a huge hole out of the body! After that he didn't even pick it up anymore. So having a little bit better quality to begin with really does make a difference in wanting to stick with it.

+1 from another guitarist who tried starting with a similar piece of crap guitar and never really learned to play until I spent some money and bought a playable instrument. This is not elitism. Guitars are complicated precision instruments and there is a limit to how cheaply you can make them and have them still be playable. If someone suggested you buy a car for $2000 new, would you think, "What a deal!"??? No, you would think, "Any car made for that low a price is going to burst into flames and leave me stranded in the middle of the highway." Hopefully, these guitars wont burst into flames, but you need to spend a little bit of money to purchase a playable instrument. Just buy a decent used guitar! There are plenty of people moving up from playable entry level guitars that cost just a little more than this. You will be happy you did....

charliecarroll

KimNicole wrote:My Kala ukes are from China. Love them, but Kala has a reputation for returning entire shipments for flaws. And China has a reputation for producing some really good instruments, but with wildly variant quality.

That's the thing. A good company can sell the product and sell you something really good for the price, but it takes a lot of effort. When a company rents a brand, that doesn't always happen.

It is obvious from your posts you know what you are talking about. I have very and I mean very limited expieriance with Ukes and what I do have is from many years ago. However, from your obvious knowledge it is no problem for me to believe some at the very least, quality Ukes are coming out of China. Full sized guitars however are another matter. China made full size guitars continue to be very much lacking in overall quality, sound, and reliability, not to mention zero re-sale value.

KimNicole

charliecarroll wrote:It is obvious from your posts you know what you are talking about. I have very and I mean very limited expieriance with Ukes and what I do have is from many years ago. However, from your obvious knowledge it is no problem for me to believe some at the very least, quality Ukes are coming out of China. Full sized guitars however are another matter. China made full size guitars continue to be very much lacking in overall quality, sound, and reliability, not to mention zero re-sale value.

Yeah, to be perfectly frank, it's different with ukes because Hawaiians have entered the mass marketplace in recent years. What shipping route makes most sense? China to Hawaii to the Mainland. While they (the Hawaiians) always made quality instruments--obviously since the uke is unique to Hawaii--they were not biggest manufacturerer of them. Since it's a culturally significant instrument, the quality is a big focus for Hawaiian companies, more than it might be for a non-Hawaiian company. At least that's my observation. It's not just a novelty instrument; it was an attempt to hold off Westernization by the last King.

Maybe the best point to say here is that each instrument is a bit different. Due to history, use, the public interest, what may be true for one instrument's manufacture isn't of another.

I can't disagree with you about guitars. That was certainly what I saw when I looked for one.

killerflea

Hmm. I've played all sorts of crap for years and for the this price it's well worth it. I bought two lavender guitar combos and two of the black guitar combos. I have two sons that want to learn and these are perfect for them. I have bought acoustic no name guitars for more in the past that ended up destroyed just from the pressure of the strings being in tune. You can't even buy the parts for this price to build your own cheap guitar. I have bought a Peavey Bass combo in the past and for the money was a decent bass, the amp sucked. You can look elsewhere but you get a brand name here and big smiles too. the way I see it even if you don't play it makes a cool decoration.

spidra

fevans1980 wrote:Mine arrived yesterday. I spent a few minutes tuning and strumming, and I'm looking forward to giving it a real go.

I wasn't really looking for an electric guitar but $49 was too cheap to pass up (and my housemates seem to have hidden or absconded with my semi-acoustic). Most of my guitar playing experience is on acoustics. And I'm not really technically inclined. I absolutely expected it to be a piece of crap guitar and it's more solid than I thought it'd be.

I bought the lavender model. I was surprised to see instead of matte lavender, it's lavender sparkle paint. I'm not a girly-girl but it's pretty fun and seductive. When the guitar arrived, I tried playing around with it. The action was low, which I like, but it was so low that you couldn't get an actual note until the 4th fret on some strings. There was also some crinkly sound when you turned the tone knob.

I looked up Woot's return policy and saw they recommended calling the manufacturer first. I hit Peavey's site, looked at their policies, then called the nearest Peavey authorized service center. They called Peavey to see if they'd cover the repair and they would. So I drove to the joint, left it there for a couple weeks, and got back a guitar that's got higher action now, but plays. The knob had a piece of plastic floating in it somewhere and that's been removed. It is a fun solid little guitar that's a heckuva deal for $49. The amp is probably only good for home practice or for busking on very quiet streets, but I definitely got my money's worth. I can imagine having a lot of fun with this thing.

Serious props to Peavey that they didn't just say "You bought it cheap from Woot, no we're not covering repair". They didn't just have me mail it back in exchange for another one with likely the same problems. They paid to have a pro set the guitar up.

aedwards13

I bought one of the purple guitars back on the 13th and received it today. While I've been around a lot of guitars over the past 10 years or so, I've never actually learned how to play. So, the sole purpose of this guitar [for me] is to play along with Rocksmith for the Xbox 360. I've been playing the game non-stop since I got home from work and I've got to say, I've learned more in those few hours than I ever did from my ex-husband.

I didn't expect a quality guitar out of the Peavy Rockmaster, but I did expect a guitar that would enable me to learn; I have to say I'm satisfied with my purchase. The guitar stayed in tune the entire time and for its purpose, it sounds great.

The amp, as I thought, it absolute garbage. It's static city. The only reason I used it was to make sure the guitar was in working condition after removing it from the box it was shipped in.

All-in-all, I already love my purchase. I don't expect to become a rock star or anything like that, but if I ever happen to be in a position to seriously play in front of people, I realize better equipment is required. As your skills grow, so should your guitar. This is not a stage guitar by any means.

englishchannel

OK. So the ongoing debate got me interested to the point that I actually bought 2 of these Peavey guitars. I got the Orange Retro Fire and the Purple Rockmaster. These guitars are a great deal. The amps are not for serious work, but after a setup, both of these guitars really are impressive. And they stay in tune just fine! The cheaper Rockmaster was actually better setup than the Retro Fire, but both have fully adjustable bridges and necks. Fit and finish is excellent on both. Set neck bow, the intonation, and the action to your liking, and these are very playable. Nice tone, solid feel, every bit as good as my Fender, Ibanez, and Epiphone electrics, and at a fraction of the price. A real deal for anyone interested in playing and not concerned about the name plate on the guitar, or where you purchase them from. There are really great deals out there folks, and woot brought the goods on this one! Congrats to all who got in on this deal!

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